Do I need a panel upgrade?

If you are out of spaces, or the load calculation overshoots the service, that is the conversation. A new cover and a bigger box are different jobs. This tool only counts spaces.

What is a double-tap?

Two conductors under a lug listed for one. It is a defect, not a spare space. Stop adding loads on it.

Are tandem breakers a free upgrade?

Only in panels and positions listed for them. Treating every slot as two circuits is how panels get dangerous.

HyreElectrical tools

Panel space, counted, not guessed from a photo

Spaces are not amps. A double-tapped breaker is a defect, not a spare. Tandems already in play plus two empty slots is a subpanel conversation, not another tandem.

Spaces ≠ amps a 200 A panel can be full Every new circuit needs a space. EV, heat pump, range and a hot tub compete for the same slots. Counting from a closed-door photograph misses tandems and double-taps.

Enter total spaces, spaces used, whether tandems are already in the panel, and whether any breaker has two conductors under one screw. The output is spare count and the conversation that spare (or that double-tap) actually implies. Do not open a live panel to fill this in if you cannot do it dead. HyreElectrical does not open panels.

Count the spaces

From a photo of the dead front if that is all you have. Nothing is emailed.

— Spare spaces

— Tandems

— The conversation

What this assumed —

A count, not a diagnosis. Live work is not DIY. HyreElectrical does not open panels.

Questions this calculator answers

Do I need a panel upgrade?: If you are out of spaces, or the load calculation overshoots the service, that is the conversation. A new cover and a bigger box are different jobs. This tool only counts spaces.
What is a double-tap?: Two conductors under a lug listed for one. It is a defect, not a spare space. Stop adding loads on it.
Are tandem breakers a free upgrade?: Only in panels and positions listed for them. Treating every slot as two circuits is how panels get dangerous.

Sources and methodology

Figures dated 23 August 2026. Last reviewed August 16, 2026.

NFPA 70, National Electrical Code (NFPA, retrieved 2026-08-23. Cited as the model code. This page does not reproduce listing rules for tandems.)

Electrical load calculator Spaces and amps fail independently. Run both.
EV charger circuit An EVSE usually wants two adjacent spaces and a dedicated breaker.
Electrical project cost A full panel is the usual reason a small bid becomes a large one. Type the bid.

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Count the spaces

Questions this calculator answers

Sources and methodology

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